Advances in information technology have generated enormous efficiencies in many industries, including retail, hospitality, transportation, communications, entertainment, manufacturing and financial services. Yet in marketing of agricultural produce, the largest industry of them all, innovation has lagged as growers, traders, agents, brokers, warehouse operators, logistics service providers, experts, and input suppliers have been slow to adopt new technologies. This is because agriculture in general and marketing of agriculture produce in particular is often considered a relationship business. Indeed, the markets for agricultural produce could not function without networks of human force who have built trust working with each other over many years.

However, marketing of agricultural produce also is an information business, where transactions depend on the steady flow of data between buyers and sellers, and traders with the best data ultimately make best decisions and make the most money.

There is no good reason for Agribusinesses to operate without the benefits of faster and more accurate data, or the efficiencies afforded by workflow automation and online collaboration.

Fortunately, things are changing. Startups like Vegfru (backed by Wingify) have plans to democratize fruit and vegetable trade information by providing online access to buyers and sellers of fruit and vegetables in India. If Vegfru plans are to be believed, the founders are talking about not only supplying market information, credit, insurance, quality control, logistics and assorted services to sellers and buyers but also equipping them with software platforms to harness that data and run their businesses more effectively and efficiently. Growers, traders and agents with the best data ultimately make the most money.

Future is not hard to foresee. Suppliers and their agents who relied on pen and paper or static spreadsheets shall be able to access real-time information in cloud-hosted databases, and collaborate more effectively with buyers based on a common system of record. In addition, workflow automation software shall make them more efficient by eliminating the need for repetitive tasks that they previously did manually. Ultimately, these tools save them time and money, leading to leaner and more profitable businesses.

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This entry was posted on December 12th, 2015
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